Your favorite simple recipes can always be given a little more love with a Georgia Grown handcrafted product. Enter Argentina Gold Foods’ Kiss of Heat! This sauce, loaded with whole spices and “kissed” with a touch of sweetness and locally grown Scotch Bonnet chilies, is a “gold mine,” (pun intended!) for adding a flavor boost to your typical meatball recipe. You can use Italian sausage if you can’t find ground pork, chicken or turkey, but bear in mind that sausage has added salt and other seasonings.
Serve this as a snackable appetizer with more Kiss of Heat on the side, or as an entrée. A lightly dressed arugula and avocado salad with a lime vinaigrette, and baked or pureed sweet potato, or simply some steamed white rice and your choice of vegetable dish would complete the meal.
Ingredients:
- 1 Pound ground pork, chicken, turkey or mild Italian sausage
- ½ Cup minced onion
- 2 Cloves minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons Argentina Gold “Kiss of Heat” Gourmet Hot Sauce
- 1 Egg
- 1/3 Cup Panko or unseasoned breadcrumbs
- Salt & pepper
For the Glaze
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Kiss of Heat
Directions:
Preheat oven 375 degrees.
Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to preheated skillet then add onion and garlic. Cook 2 – 3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Set aside to cool to room temperature in a medium mixing bowl, about 5 minutes. Add ground pork or Italian sausage, egg, breadcrumbs, and Kiss of Heat sauce to onions and garlic in the bowl. Using hands or a wooden spoon, mix until well combined. Season with salt and pepper, more if you are using ground pork or turkey and less for Italian sausage (the latter already has added salt and other spices). If you need to check the seasoning, microwave a bit of the mixture for about 20 seconds or until cooked through.
Form into 1-inch balls, placing on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
To make the glaze, combine honey and Kiss of Heat sauce in a small microwaveable dish and heat for about 20 seconds. Immediately after removing meatballs from the oven (they should still be hot), toss with the glaze in a medium bowl.
Serves about 12 as an appetizer/hors d‘oeuvres or 4 – 6 as an entrée.
